La Salle Shoots Past Women's Hoops, 81-67
The UMass women's basketball team used a 14-0 run to pull within three of La Salle with 12:52 remaining in the second half and had six players score seven or more, but the effort was not enough in a 81-67 setback to the Explorers on Saturday night at Tom Gola Arena. Both squads shot extremely well on the evening with the Minutewomen (6-17, 1-7 A-10) finishing at 46.9% from the field and La Salle (11-12, 5-3) at 50.9%.

UMass Women's Basketball: Coming To A TV Near You!
Three of the remaining five UMass women's basketball home games will be broadcast locally through CBS 3 Now, channel 293 for Comcast users and 230 for all Charter subscribers. In addition to the contests against La Salle, Temple and Duquesne set to be played at the Mullins Center, the UMass women's basketball game at Saint Louis will also be featured on TV through the CBS Sports Network. Cody Chrusciel will provide play-by-play coverage of each home contest while Nefertiti Walker, an all-conference standout and 1,000-point scorer at Stetson University, will serve as a color commentator for the Temple and Duquesne games.

Upcoming Promotion: Field Trip Day vs. La Salle
When UMass women's basketball faces La Salle at the Mullins Center on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 11:45 a.m., local schools will be invited to a special midweek matinee. To have information sent to your school, please contact UMass Athletics Director of Sales Jason Blanchette at 413-577-0340.

Scouting La Salle Women's Basketball
La Salle owns a 6-13 overall record and has split four A-10 contests as the Explorers travel to Amherst, Mass., for their next game. La Salle is under the direction of third-year head coach Jeff Williams, who sports a 30-50 mark as the program's leader. The Explorers have come away victorious from the most recent pair of meetings between the programs; however, the Minutewomen own the overall series advantage, 14-7 and are 6-2 at home against La Salle.

Three Explorers score in double-figures 19 games into the season, paced by Brittany Wilson's 17.6 points per game while Shanel Harrison (10.8) and Ebonee Jones (10.1) also produce at least 10 points in each contest. Wilson also leads La Salle with 124 rebounds on the year (6.5 per game) while Harrison pulls down an average of 6.2 and Jones adds 4.9 in each contest. No other Explorer records more than 5.6 points or 3.4 rebounds per game.

La Salle is being outscored by its foes, 62.1-to-55.0 on average due to the opposition producing strong field goal and three-point shooting numbers. Combined, all 19 opponents are hitting 39.2 percent of their attempts from the floor (436-of-1113), including knocking down 85-of-263 treys (32.2 percent). The Explorers are also being outrebounded, 42.4-to-38.3 while foes have recorded leads in assists, 287-195 and steals, 196-169. La Salle does hold slim advantages in committing fewer turnovers, 332-339 and blocking more shots, 93-85.

Last Time Against The Explorers
The UMass women's basketball team used a 14-0 run to pull within three of La Salle with 12:52 remaining in the second half, but the effort was not enough in a 81-67 setback to the Explorers on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2012. Both squads shot extremely well on the evening with the Minutewomen finishing at 46.9% from the field and La Salle at 50.9%.

Cloutier hit the first shot of the second half to bring the Minutewomen to within nine, but La Salle proceeded to score eight straight to expand its advantage back out to 13. Two baskets in a row by Niggeling, however, turned the momentum UMass' way. Her second bucket was the first of three straight treys by the Minutewomen, part of a 14-0 run. Rodney's three-point play with 12:52 remaining made it a three-point game at 45-42.

However, that was as close as the Minutewomen would come as the Explorers countered six straight points to push the margin to nine. UMass could draw no closer than seven the rest of the way as La Salle used nine free throws in the final three minutes to help seal the victory and finished 17-for-20 (85.0%) at the charity stripe compared to the Minutewomen's 3-for-5 (60.0%).

Brittany Wilson's 18 points led four Explorers in double figures, while she handed out a team-high four assists, as well. Michea Bryant and Nadia Duncan totaled 14 points a piece, Jada Payne finished with 13 and Ruvanna Campbell grabbed 11 rebounds.

Last Time Out: UMass Loses Contest At #17/16 Dayton, 83-44
UMass women's basketball faltered at #17/16 Dayton's UD Arena, 83-44 on Sunday afternoon in their second contest against a top-25 nationally ranked team on the season. Freshman guard Jasmine Harris led the Minutewomen with eight points and five rebounds while senior center Jasmine Watson tallied six points, four boards and a pair of blocks.

Senior guard Dee Montgomery added five points on 2-for-4 shooting from the floor while chipping in three rebounds and a steal. Redshirt-sophomore center Millie Niggeling and sophomore forward Aisha Rodney also recorded five points a piece, while Niggeling notched three assists and Rodney contributed a pair of steals. Freshman forward Rashida Timbilla secured a game-high eight rebounds, including three from the offensive glass, as UMass won the battle of the boards, 36-32.

The Flyers hit five of their first eight attempts as Dayton raced to a 10-2 advantage with 16:22 to play in the first half. Niggeling, the conference's leader in three-point field goal percentage entering the contest, knocked down a trey to cut the deficit to 10-5.

After Dayton (17-1 overall, 5-0 Atlantic 10) connected for a 17-0 run to pull ahead, 27-5 with 6:34 remaining, freshman guard Nola Henry keyed in from behind the arc and Watson converted a layup on back-to-back trips down the floor as UMass knocked the deficit down to 27-10 with 4:52 to play in the stanza. The Minutewomen added another 5-0 run two minutes later, with Montgomery hitting a trey and jumper in the span of 42 seconds to make it 34-15 with 1:41 remaining in the first. However, the Flyers answered with a 7-2 run of their own to close the half and reach the 41-17 score at the break.

The Minutewomen (3-17, 1-4) continued to battle in the final stanza, with Harris sparking an 8-0 run to make it 52-30 in favor of Dayton with 13:46 remaining. After Niggeling hit a jumper in the paint, Harris fought her way to the basket and drew a foul, knocking down 1-of-2 free throws.

On the ensuing trip down the floor, Harris drilled a three-pointer with 14:15 to play before Watson added one of the senior's three buckets 29 seconds later to complete the scoring rush. However, the Minutewomen were unable to drop the deficit further over the remainder of the second half before eventually falling, 83-44.

Amber Deane and Andrea Hoover each recorded 18 points to lead Dayton in scoring while Ally Malott added 14 and Olivia Applewhite chipped in 13.

Defense Leads UMass To 62-58 Victory Over George Washington
UMass women's basketball used a stout defensive performance to secure a 62-58 victory over George Washington to open A-10 Conference play at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon. Redshirt-junior Carolann Cloutier led four Minutewomen in double-figures with a season-high 13 points. Sophomore guard Emily Mital added 11 while senior center Jasmine Watson and sophomore forward Aisha Rodney each chipped in 10.

Freshman forward Rashida Timbilla tallied a game-best 11 rebounds while totaling eight points and tying a career-high with five steals. Freshman guard Nola Henry finished 3-for-4 from the floor for seven points, also dishing out four assists and earning two steals. Rodney finished 5-for-5 from the field and pulled down five boards. Watson secured eight boards, leading all players with five off the offensive glass.

After George Washington (6-9 overall, 0-1 A-10) raced to a 7-1 lead 2:10 into the contest, the Minutewomen defense settled in to hold the Colonials to just 14 points over the remaining 17:50 of the opening stanza. During the half, George Washington only hit 7-of-27 attempts from the field (25.9 percent), including finishing just 1-for-4 from behind the arc (25.0 percent).

UMass (3-13, 1-0) battled back from its early deficit on the strength of its defense and nine points from Mital and six from Timbilla, who also had five rebounds and a pair of assists in the first.

Henry connected on the front end of a pair of foul shots before Mital knocked down her first three-pointer of the game on the ensuing UMass possession to pull the Minutewomen within 7-5 at the 17:03 mark. The sophomore guard from Frisco, Texas, followed her second trey only 40 seconds later to give UMass its first lead of the day, 8-7.

After GW tied the contest at 14-14 with 8:34 remaining in the half, UMass finished out the frame with a 14-7 run to hold a 28-21 lead at the half, an advantage the squad would not relinquish the rest of the way. Scoring was balanced across five Minutewomen as UMass doubled the GW output during the final eight and a half minutes. Rodney and Timbilla tallied four each while Mital produced three points on a jumper and free throw, Watson hit a layup and Cloutier connected on one foul shot.

The Minutewomen grew their lead as high as 10 in the first half, 27-17 with 3:39 remaining and finished the stanza ahead, 28-21. After Danni Jackson hit 1-of-2 free throw attempts to pull George Washington within 20-17 at the 5:33 mark, UMass went on a 7-0 run to pad the advantage. Timbilla drained a pair of foul shots while Watson followed with a layup and Mital was bumped while converting a shot at the basket, knocking down the ensuing free throw for the 10-point lead.

After the Colonials moved to within three of tying again, UMass converted its attempts from the floor during the early minutes of the second half to re-take a double-digit lead, 42-31 with 13:50 left to play. Cloutier spearheaded the Minutewomen offense with back-to-back three-pointers, reaching 10 points on the game in the process.

The Minutewomen continued to add to their lead until the final minutes of the contest, pulling ahead by as much as 15 during the second half. Following a Chakecia Miller free throw that dropped the UMass lead to 50-40, Henry fought her way inside the arc and pulled up for a jumper before Watson added a layup and senior guard Dee Montgomery hit a free throw for the 55-40 lead at the 5:09 mark.

George Washington chipped away at its deficit until the Minutewomen held only a three-point advantage, 59-56 with 39 seconds to play. However, after letting the shot clock tick down to single-digits, Henry drove to the left of the Colonials' basket into the paint and used the backboard to drain her third shot of the day, putting UMass in front, 61-56 with 13 seconds remaining.

Jackson answered with a layup for the Colonials to again pull GW within three of tying, 61-58 with six seconds remaining; however, Cloutier sank a free throw after being fouled on the inbounding play to reach the eventual final score, 62-58 with three seconds remaining. Montgomery intercepted a long George Washington entry pass near midcourt to seal the win for UMass.

The Minutewomen finished 23-for-52 from the floor (44.2 percent), hit 4-of-16 three-pointers (25.0 percent) and went 12-for-20 from the free throw line. On the other end of the court UMass was able to limit GW to a 19-for-57 field goal performance (33.3 percent) as the Colonials went 4-for-13 from behind the three-point arc (30.8 percent). George Washington, the worst free throw shooting squad in the 16-team Atlantic 10 entering conference competition, finished 16-for-26 from the foul line (61.5 percent).

UMass won the battle in the paint, 26-22 while recording a 16-15 advantage in points off of turnovers. Second change scoring favored the Colonials, 18-10 while the UMass bench recorded 13 points to 11 for the George Washington reserves.

Tara Booker and Jackson each netted 14 points for the Colonials; however, UMass kept the duo off-balance for much of the contest, resulting in the pair ending 9-for-30 from the floor (30.0 percent).

Lethal From Long Distance
UMass women's basketball has connected consistently from beyond the arc throughout the 2012-13 season, resulting in the second-best percentage three-point field goal percentage in the 16-team Atlantic 10 conference and 37th-highest conversion rate in the country. The Minutewomen have sized up 315 three-pointers while connecting on 109 of those attempts (34.6 percent).

Sophomore guard Emily Mital is fourth in the conference for made three-point field goals with 41 for an average of 2.2 per contest while placing 10th in the A-10 for three-point percentage (34.5). Redshirt-sophomore center Millie Niggeling boosts the program's percentage as the most accurate shooter from beyond the arc within the A-10, hitting 19-of-47 attempts (40.4 percent).

Niggeling Nets Double-Double In First Collegiate Start
Redshirt-sophomore center Millie Niggeling made the most of her first collegiate start, recording a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against the Butler Bulldogs at the Mullins Center on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Using a career-high 31 minutes on the floor, Niggeling also provided personal-bests with six assists, which led all players in the game, and three steals.

Cleaning GlassRashida Timbilla has shown a penchant for pulling down clutch rebounds, especially on the offensive end of the floor during her first season of college basketball. Through 20 games, Timbilla owns 167 boards for an average of 8.4 per game, ranking the freshman from Ottawa, Ontario, sixth in the entire A-10 and first among all underclassmen through games of Sunday, Jan. 27.

Timbilla's ability to grab rebounds specifically on offense leads her to own 75 offensive boards so far, the third-most in the conference, while her 3.8 per game average also stands third among student-athletes in the A-10.

Far from being a one-dimensional player, Timbilla has also developed a knack for knocking down shots, owning a 71-for-145 clip from the field (48.0 percent), and causing turnovers, earning the 13th-most steals in the conference at 1.8 per game (36).

Don't Challenge Us In H-O-R-S-E
UMass senior center Jasmine Watson and freshman guard Rashida Timbilla have found their shooting rhythms consistently 20 games into the season, resulting in the duo earning field goal percentages that stand among the best in the Atlantic 10. Watson ranks third with 97 makes in 191 attempts (50.8 percent) while Timbilla follows at 49.0 percent (71-of-145), but falls approximately 0.4 made field goals per game shy of eclipsing the minimum needed to qualify for the standings.

Talented Duo Signs NLI's To Join UMass Women's Basketball Family
The University of Massachusetts women's basketball program and head coach Sharon Dawley announced the signing of Kymber Hill and Meredith Tarver to letters of intent to play for the Minutewomen on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Hill is a member of the Althoff Catholic girl's basketball team that has averaged more than 20 wins per season during her freshman-through-junior campaigns with the squad while the all-conference forward and center has lettered in each scholastic season. Tarver led Northview to a Georgia Region 5 Sweet 16 appearance in 2010-11 and entered her senior year as an all-region and all-metro honoree after averaging 14 points per game a season ago.

Providing The Helping Hand
Freshman point guard Nola Henry, called upon to fill in for injured senior Dee Montgomery, provided veteran caliber play in her first collegiate start, dishing out a career-high 11 assists against only four turnovers when UMass came within a buzzer-beater of downing Bowling Green on Dec. 19. In addition to her success taking care of the ball, Henry chipped in eight points and matched a personal-best with four rebounds over 33 minutes on the floor against the Falcons. The 11 helpers ties Henry for fifth-most in a single game in program history, a mark also achieved by Montgomery during the current campaign.

All That Jas
Senior Jasmine Watson, UMass' top returning scorer, was named to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team - the third consecutive year Watson has earned a spot on the all-conference listing released prior to the start of the season.

Twenty games into the 2012-13 season, Watson has totaled 1,209 career points (12.1 ppg), 672 rebounds (6.7 rpg) and 149 blocks (1.5 bpg). Watson, the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is currently third on the program's all-time list for career stuffs and ranks third in blocked shots per game.

Watson played in and started all 29 UMass contests in 2011-12 and paced the Minutewomen with 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds during the campaign. Watson recorded a team-best 48 blocks, hit 49.0 percent of her field goal attempts (141-of-288) and averaged 28.7 minutes played per game.

Watson scored double-digits in points in 21 games in 2011-12, including reaching double-double status in four contests. The South Bend, Ind., native also led UMass in rebounding on 15 occasions.

Timbilla's Double-Double Leads UMass To Victory At Ohio, 65-61
UMass women's basketball secured its first road victory of the season with a 65-61 win at Ohio University's Convocation Center on Thursday. Freshman guard Rashida Timbilla led the Minutewomen with her second career double-double, producing 16 points and 13 rebounds, including seven boards on the offensive glass, while adding four of UMass' 11 blocks on the day.

Sophomore guard Emily Mital totaled 13 points, four rebounds and three assists while freshman guard Jasmine Harris added nine points and three boards. The UMass team total for blocks fell one shy of tying the program mark for most in a single game, tied most recently against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 27, 2008.

UMass (2-5 overall) held a slim lead throughout the majority of the first half, taking a 31-27 advantage into the break. After Ohio secured a 4-3 lead on a pair of Tina Fisher free throws with 17:00 to play in the first, the Minutewomen answered with a Kim Pierre-Louis layup to take the lead for good in the half at the 15:57 mark.

The Minutewomen earned their largest advantage of the opening stanza at seven points, 26-19 on a three-pointer by Harris, one of two the freshman produced during the half. Pierre-Louis finished the first with six points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field while Mital and Harris each produced eight points during the first half.

UMass tallied the initial seven points of the second to grow its lead to 38-27 with 18:45 remaining. Bomben opened scoring in the 7-0 run with a three-pointer before Timbilla and Rodney produced a layup each to force Ohio to call a timeout.

The Bobcats (1-4) answered with a 15-4 run of their own to pull even at 42-42 with 13:09 to play, equalizing the score with a Kiyanna Black layup. Black led all scorers in the contest with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field and a 3-for-4 performance from the free throw line.

The contest featured back-and-forth play until the final buzzer as UMass did not relinquish its lead again, but was unable to build an advantage larger than eight over the remainder of the game. After Ohio pulled within one of tying, 51-50 with 6:41 to play, the Minutewomen went on a 9-2 run to pull ahead, 60-52 with 3:23 remaining. Four different UMass players recorded a bucket during the span, with Mital pushing the lead to eight on a three-pointer, one of a trio the sophomore hit against the Bobcats defense.

Erin Bailes connected on a shot from behind the arc to drop the UMass advantage to 62-59 with 1:16 remaining. After Timbilla missed a shot with 58 seconds to play, the Bobcats had one last attempt to rally taken away by Mital. The Frisco, Texas, native poked the ball away from Ashley Fowler and knocked down a pair of free throws after taking a foul, extending the UMass lead to 64-59.

UMass shot 38.7 percent from the field (24-for-62) and hit 6-of-14 three-point attempts (42.9 percent) while finishing 11-for-16 at the line (68.8 percent). Ohio went 22-for-65 on field goal attempts (33.8 percent) while the Minutewomen defense held the Bobcats to only three made three-pointers in 12 attempts (25.0 percent). Ohio kept the game close with a strong performance at the free throw line, knocking down 14-of-15 attempts (93.3 percent).

Redshirt-sophomore forward Millie Niggeling added six points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks over 16 minutes. Forward Aisha Rodney added four points on 2-for-4 shooting from the field to go with a steal in 14 minutes during the sophomore's first start of the season and fifth of her career.

UMass was without the help of senior center Jasmine Watson, who is currently listed as day-to-day as she recovers from concussion-related symptoms.

UMass Routs Kent State, 83-53 In Season-Opener
Senior co-captain Jasmine Watson's 21 points led four scorers in double figures as the UMass women's basketball team rolled to a 83-53 win in the season opener at the Mullins Center on Sunday afternoon. Watson logged her 1,000th point in the contest to become the 18th player in program history to achieve the milestone.

Watson, who went 8-for-11 from the floor in her 10th career 20-point game, also chipped in with eight rebounds, four blocks, four steals and three assists in 31 minutes on the floor. Sophomore Emily Mital followed with a career-best 16 points and was aided by a 4-for-6 afternoon from beyond the arc.

In their debuts as Minutewomen, redshirt junior Kiara Bomben and freshman Rashida Timbilla both reached double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Timbilla also hauled in 10 boards to complete her double-double, including five on the offensive glass. Bomben snagged four steals and senior Dee Montgomery dished a career-best 11 assists, her second with 10 or more helpers.

All 14 UMass players who dressed for the contest saw action with 11 draining buckets in the Minutewomen's highest scoring output since Nov. 28, 2010 at East Carolina. Redshirt sophomore Millie Niggeling paced the UMass bench with seven points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 on the day.

Kent State (0-1) scored on its opening possession to lead 2-0 before the Minutewomen strung together a 13-2 run. Then the Golden Flashes answered with an 11-3 spurt to make it a one possession game at 16-13, with 11:12 to go in the first half. However, UMass drained four of its seven first-half treys in the final eight minutes of the period to help extend the lead to 15 at the break, 39-24.

The Minutewomen maintained the double-digit cushion following the intermission as Kent State could draw no closer than 13 the rest of the way. UMass led by 32 with 2:05 remaining, it's largest advantage of the day.

Finishing the contest a blistering 33-for-54 from the floor, the Minutewomen shot 61.1% overall, the squad's best performance since facing Yale on Jan. 22, 2008 (33-for-52, 63.5%). UMass made 10-of-18 (55.6%) from long range, while converting 7-of-12 at the charity stripe. The Minutewomen nearly doubled up the Golden Flashes on the boards, out-rebounding Kent State, 41-23.

The Golden Flashes shot 39.3% (22-for-56) overall in the contest and had two scorers in double figures, Diamon Beckford with 15 points and Trisha Krewson with 11. Tamzin Barroilhet hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and dished three assists.

Watson Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
UMass women's basketball senior center Jasmine Watson was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday afternoon. To secure the honor, Watson produced her 1,000th collegiate point while leading UMass' to an 83-53 drubbing of Kent State on Saturday during the season-opener for the Minutewomen.

Watson finished the contest against the Golden Flashes with a team-high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-8 day at the free throw line. Watson also tallied eight rebounds while adding four blocks and four steals to the winning effort.

Watson Tallies 1,000th Career PointJasmine Watson opened her final campaign with the Minutewomen with a 21-point effort in UMass' 83-53 victory over Kent State, eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau with her final field goal attempt of the contest. Using her 10th collegiate game of 20 or more points, Watson became just the 18th member to the illustrious club and now ranks 10th all-time in scoring at UMass with 1,209 points.

Timbilla Nets Double-Double In First Collegiate Game
Freshman forward Rashida Timbilla netted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds during her first game as a college women's basketball player, becoming the first Minutewoman to achieve a double-double during her first collegiate contest.

Timbilla provided clutch outputs in both categories, hitting on 5-of-7 field goals (.714 pct.) to go with a free throw while tally five of her 10 boards on the offensive end of the court.

Bomben, Montgomery and Watson Named 2012-13 Team Captains
UMass head coach Sharon Dawley named Kiara Bomben, Dee Montgomery and Jasmine Watson as the team's captains for the upcoming season. The trio will be looked upon to provide guidance and leadership for the Minutewomen squad on and off the court during the 2012-13 campaign.

Watson enters her senior season looking to become the 18th member of the Minutewomen's 1,000-points club, starting the year just 20 points shy of the 1,000-mark. Montgomery is also set to use her experience to guide the Minutewomen as a senior, beginning the campaign with 72 appearances and 22 starts. Bomben will be seeing her first minutes at UMass as a redshirt-junior after spending the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Coming From Near And Far
UMass' 15-player roster is comprised of individuals from 11 different states and provinces, including four international student-athletes.
Millie Niggeling is the first women's basketball student-athlete in program history from Iowa, while Canada is represented by three Minutewomen; Kim Pierre-Louis (Ontario), Carolann Cloutier (Quebec) and Rashida Timbilla (Ontario) and Kiara Bomben originally hails from Australia.

Women's Basketball Radio Show On WMUA
Throughout the 2012-13 season, catch up on what's going on with the Minutewomen as WMUA broadcasters Pat O'Neil and Chris Doherty talk with head coach Sharon Dawley and other special guests from the UMass women's basketball team on the UMass Women's Basketball Coach's Show, Mondays from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on WMUA 91.1 FM and www.wmua.org. If you miss the airing, you will be able to catch a recorded version on UMassAthletics.com the following day.

New Minutewomen Faces
The Minutewomen have six players that could see their first collegiate minutes in a UMass jersey this season, with five true-freshman and redshirt-junior transfer Kiara Bomben. Also joining the team is redshirt-freshman transfer Amber Dillon, who played for the University of Maine in 2011-12 and will be eligible to see time for the Minutewomen beginning in 2013-14.

Bomben transferred to UMass prior to the 2011-12 season and was required to sit out the campaign as per NCAA policy. The Australia native spent her first two seasons with Florida Gulf Coast before transferring and will be looked upon as a leader on an off the floor in 2012-13 as Bomben was named a captain with seniors Dee Montgomery and Jasmine Watson.

Henry started at point guard for Trenton Catholic (N.J.) during the squad's run to the NJSIAA Non-Public 8 Championship in 2010-11 while Harris averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Farmington (Mich.) as a senior in 2011-12. Jordan was twice named an all-state recipient at Port Huron (Mich.) and won the Nike National Championship with the U-15 Motor City Suns. Stewart is a local product, hailing from Amherst, and was named a Franklin-Hampshire County All-Star and Daily Hampshire Gazette First Team honor at Amherst-Pelham Regional. Timbilla played one year for prep school Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) after attending John McCrae Secondary in Ontario, where she average more than 20 points and 14 rebounds per game in 2010-11.

Octavia Thomas Selected To UMass Hall Of Fame
University of Massachusetts Athletics announced the five members of the 2012 Class that have been inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame, including former women's basketball star Octavia Thomas along with Cari Nickerson Lovejoy (Women's Lacrosse, 1977-80), Khari Mitchell-Samuel (Football, 1995-98), Tim Soudan (Men's Lacrosse, 1987-90) and Phil Vandersea (Football, 1961-64).

The No. 2 scorer in program history, Thomas was a major force in the program's resurgence in the mid-1990's. During her career from 1993-1996, Thomas helped turn a program that had won nine total games in the previous three seasons into one that made the WNIT and the NCAA Tournament during her junior and senior campaigns.